1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to the art of the method of aligning a straddle mount type electrical connector to a printed circuit board (PCB), and more particularly to the resulting product thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Referring to FIG. 6, a section view of a through hole mount type connector mounted on a PCB 7 is shown. The connector comprise a dielectric housing 5, a board lock 6 is secured in the dielectric housing 5, the board lock 6 comprises a retaining portion 63 secured in the dielectric housing 5, and a pair of legs 61 extending down from the retaining portion 63, each leg defining a hook 62 thereon. The PCB 7 comprises a through hole 71 therein. When mounting, the legs 61 is inserted though the though hole 71 with the hooks 62 hold a bottom 72 of the PCB 7, so the dielectric housing 5 of the connector is reliably fixed to the PCB 7.
With the development of a surface mount technology (SMT), it is possible to reduce the mounting stature of the connector for the printed circuit board and to realize a connector for a PCB having a narrow pitch contactor. The SMT is a technique in which, instead of through-hole mounting, lead parts overlap a contact pad (or land) formed on the PCB and are soldered thereto using a soldering device such as a hot-air circulation reflow soldering device. In the straddle mount type connector manufactured by the SMT, the lead parts of the connector are soldered to an edge connector comprised of contact pads. When a board lock is not used, the connector is difficult to be aligned to a PCB.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.